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The Staunton chess set is the standard style of
chess pieces A chess piece, or chessman, is a game piece that is placed on a chessboard to play the game of chess. It can be either white or black, and it can be one of six types: king, queen, rook, bishop, knight, or pawn. Chess sets generally come with s ...
, recommended for use in competition by
FIDE The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( Fédération Internationale des Échecs), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national c ...
, the international chess governing body. The journalist
Nathaniel Cooke Nathaniel Cooke was the designer of a set of chess figures called the Staunton chess set which is now the standard set. Chess set Cooke registered his design at the United Kingdom Patent Office on 1 March 1849 under the Ornamental Designs A ...
is credited with the design on the patent, and they are named after the leading English
chess master A chess title is a title regulated by a chess governing body and bestowed upon players based on their performance and rank. Such titles are usually granted for life. The international chess governing body FIDE grants several titles, the most pre ...
Howard Staunton, who endorsed it; the first 500 sets were numbered and hand-signed by Staunton. This style of set was first made available by Jaques of London in 1849, and it quickly became the standard. The set style and its variations have been used around the world since.


Old-style chess sets

During the late 18th century and early 19th century, the increased interest in the game of
chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...
, particularly in international play, brought about a renewed demand for a more universal model for
chess piece A chess piece, or chessman, is a game piece that is placed on a chessboard to play the game of chess. It can be either white or black, and it can be one of six types: king, queen, rook, bishop, knight, or pawn. Chess sets generally come with ...
s. The variety and styles of the conventional form, which began in the 15th century, had expanded tremendously by the beginning of the 19th century. Conventional types popular during the period included the English Barleycorn chess set, the St. George chess set, the French Regence chess set (named after the in Paris), and the central European forms. Most designs then in use had pieces that were difficult to distinguish, cumbersome during play, and easily tipped. The Staunton chess set was released in 1849 in response to these issues. The pieces were designed to be easy to use and universally recognized by chess players of diverse backgrounds. It was first released by the purveyors of fine games, John Jaques of London, sport and games manufacturers, of
Hatton Garden Hatton Garden is a street and commercial zone in the Holborn district of the London Borough of Camden, abutting the narrow precinct of Saffron Hill which then abuts the City of London. It takes its name from Sir Christopher Hatton, a favouri ...
in London. It became known as the Staunton chess set after Howard Staunton (1810–1874), the chess player and writer who was generally considered the strongest player in the world from 1843–1851.
Nathaniel Cooke Nathaniel Cooke was the designer of a set of chess figures called the Staunton chess set which is now the standard set. Chess set Cooke registered his design at the United Kingdom Patent Office on 1 March 1849 under the Ornamental Designs A ...
has long been credited with the design. One theory of the development of the set is that Cooke had used prestigious architectural concepts, familiar to an expanding class of educated and prosperous gentry. London architects, strongly influenced by the culture of Greece and the
culture of ancient Rome The culture of ancient Rome existed throughout the almost 1200-year history of the civilization of Ancient Rome. The term refers to the culture of the Roman Republic, later the Roman Empire, which at its peak covered an area from present-day Lo ...
, were designing prestigious buildings in the
neoclassical style Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing sty ...
. The appearance of the new chessmen was based on this style. and the pieces were symbols of "respectable" Victorian society: * A
bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...
distinguished by a
mitre The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in ...
* A
queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
's
coronet A coronet is a small crown consisting of ornaments fixed on a metal ring. A coronet differs from other kinds of crowns in that a coronet never has arches, and from a tiara in that a coronet completely encircles the head, while a tiara doe ...
and
king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...
's
crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...
* A
knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...
carved as a
stallion A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded ( castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...
's head from the
Elgin Marbles The Elgin Marbles (), also known as the Parthenon Marbles ( el, Γλυπτά του Παρθενώνα, lit. "sculptures of the Parthenon"), are a collection of Classical Greece, Classical Greek marble sculptures made under the supervision of th ...
from the Parthenon * A
castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...
streamlined into clean classical lines, projecting an aura of strength and security * The Staunton
pawn Pawn most often refers to: * Pawn (chess), the weakest and most numerous piece in the game * Pawnbroker or pawnshop, a business that provides loans by taking personal property as collateral Pawn may also refer to: Places * Pawn, Oregon, an his ...
follows a simple traditional design of a cone capped with a knob, but elaborated in the style of a
Victorian architecture Victorian architecture is a series of architectural revival styles in the mid-to-late 19th century. ''Victorian'' refers to the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), called the Victorian era, during which period the styles known as Victorian w ...
balcony. There were also practical innovations: A crown emblem was stamped onto a rook and
knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...
of each side to identify their positioning on to the king's side of the board. This was because, in descriptive chess notation, the
rooks Rook (''Corvus frugilegus'') is a bird of the corvid family. Rook or rooks may also refer to: Games *Rook (chess), a piece in chess *Rook (card game), a trick-taking card game Military *Sukhoi Su-25 The Sukhoi Su-25 ''Grach'' (russian: � ...
and
knights A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the ...
were often designated by being the "queen's knight", the "king's rook", etc. Another possibility is that Jaques, a master
turner Turner may refer to: People and fictional characters *Turner (surname), a common surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Turner (given name), a list of people with the given name *One who uses a lathe for turni ...
, had probably been experimenting with a design that not only would be accepted by players but also could be produced at a reasonable cost. In the end, he most likely borrowed and synthesized elements from sets already available to create a new design that used universally recognizable symbols atop conventional stems and bases: The resulting pieces were compact, well balanced, and weighted to provide an understandable, practical playing set. It may have been a combination of both theories with the
synergy Synergy is an interaction or cooperation giving rise to a whole that is greater than the simple sum of its parts. The term ''synergy'' comes from the Attic Greek word συνεργία ' from ', , meaning "working together". History In Christian ...
of Cooke the entrepreneur and Jaques the artisan. From 1820 on, diagrams in chess books began to use icons of chess pieces similar in many respects to the Staunton chessmen, including a change from arched crown to coronet for the queen. This shows that the Staunton design may have been taken from these diagrams, very likely created by a printer.


Design

The
ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus '' Diospyros'', which also contains the persimmons. Unlike most woods, ebony is dense enough to sink in water. It is finely textured and has a mirror finish when ...
and
boxwood ''Buxus'' is a genus of about seventy species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood. The boxes are native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, northernmost South ...
sets were weighted with
lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cut, ...
to provide added stability and the underside of each piece was covered with
felt Felt is a textile material that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic or acrylonitrile or wood ...
, allowing the pieces to slide easily across the board. Some
ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals i ...
sets were made from African ivory. The
king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...
sizes ranged from 3½ to 4½ inches and the sets typically came in a
papier-mâché upright=1.3, Mardi Gras papier-mâché masks, Haiti upright=1.3, Papier-mâché Catrinas, traditional figures for day of the dead celebrations in Mexico Papier-mâché (, ; , literally "chewed paper") is a composite material consisting of p ...
case, each one bearing a
facsimile A facsimile (from Latin ''fac simile'', "to make alike") is a copy or reproduction of an old book, manuscript, map, art print, or other item of historical value that is as true to the original source as possible. It differs from other forms of ...
of Staunton's signature under the lid. The Staunton pieces broadly resemble columns with a wide
molded Molding (American English) or moulding (British and Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is the process of manufacturing by shaping liquid or pliable raw material using a rigid frame called a mold or matrix. This itself may hav ...
base.
Knights A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the ...
feature the sculpted head and neck of a
horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...
.
Kings Kings or King's may refer to: *Monarchs: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations, with the male being kings *One of several works known as the "Book of Kings": **The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts **The ''Shahnameh'' ...
, the tallest pieces, top the column with a stylised
crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...
topped with a cross pattée.
Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
are slightly smaller than kings, and feature a
coronet A coronet is a small crown consisting of ornaments fixed on a metal ring. A coronet differs from other kinds of crowns in that a coronet never has arches, and from a tiara in that a coronet completely encircles the head, while a tiara doe ...
topped with a tiny ball (a
monde A ''monde'', meaning 'world' in French, is an orb located near the top of a crown. It represents, as the name suggests, the world that the monarch rules. It is the point at which a crown's half arches meet. It is usually topped off either w ...
).
Rooks Rook (''Corvus frugilegus'') is a bird of the corvid family. Rook or rooks may also refer to: Games *Rook (chess), a piece in chess *Rook (card game), a trick-taking card game Military *Sukhoi Su-25 The Sukhoi Su-25 ''Grach'' (russian: � ...
feature stylised
crenellated A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...
battlement A battlement in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interv ...
s and
bishops A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
a Western-style mitre. Pawns are the smallest and are topped by a plain ball. Pieces representing human characters (the king, queen, bishop, and pawn) have a flat disk separating the body from the head design, which is known as a collar. A modified Staunton chess set, described in the
FIDE The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( Fédération Internationale des Échecs), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national c ...
Laws of Chess, is used for the blind and visually impaired. In such a set, the black pieces are differentiated from the white pieces by a small point/spike atop the pieces, and the dark squares are raised above the light squares to allow the user to feel the board and pieces to understand the position. Furthermore, each square has a hole into which pegs on the bottom of each piece are inserted, allowing the user to feel the position of the pieces without moving them or knocking them over.


Patent

The design was registered at the Patent Office on 1 March 1849, to Nathaniel Cooke, 198 Strand,
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
as an ''Ornamental Design for a set of Chess-Men'', under the ''Ornamental Designs Act of 1842''. At that date, there was no provision for the registration of any design or articles of ivory; registration was limited to Class 2, articles chiefly made of
wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...
.


Marketing

Cooke was the editor for the ''
Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication i ...
'', where Staunton published chess articles. He convinced the champion to endorse the chess set. Staunton not only endorsed the product for Jaques of London but promoted it to an extraordinary degree including the lambasting and derision of any other design of chessmen then proposed. The Staunton, as it became known, became available to the general public on 29 September 1849. The Staunton style was soon the standard on which most tournament playing pieces have been made and used around the world ever since. The low cost of the Staunton set allowed the masses to purchase sets and helped to popularize the game of chess. The Staunton set obtained the stamp of approval of
FIDE The International Chess Federation or World Chess Federation, commonly referred to by its French acronym FIDE ( Fédération Internationale des Échecs), is an international organization based in Switzerland that connects the various national c ...
, the World Chess Federation, when in 1924 it was selected as their choice of set, for use in all future international chess tournaments.


Variants

There are 17 recognized variants derived from the original 1849 Staunton chess set, classified as follows: # Leuchars chess set (1849) # Cooke chess set (1849–1850) # Wedgewood chess set (1849) # Morphy chess set (1851) – characterized by "Morphy" knights, which have more pronounced jowls than other designs. # Harrwitz chess set (1852–55) # Paulsen chess set (1853–1855) # Anderssen chess set (1855–65) # Steinitz chess set (1865–70) # Tarrasch chess set (1870–1875) # Zukertort chess set (1875–80) # Lasker chess set (1880–85) # Pre-Hartston chess set (1885–1890) # Hartston chess set (1890–1900) # Marshall chess set (1900–15) # Nimzovitch chess set (1927–1937) # Broadbent chess set (1925–37) # Lessing chess set (1927–1937)


Modern times

The Staunton chess set has proven to be extremely popular and is likely to remain so in the future. The design is successful because of its well-balanced and easily recognized pieces. It is currently the official standard for tournament chess pieces.
Anthony Saidy Anthony Saidy (born May 16, 1937) is an International Master of chess, a retired physician and author. He competed eight times in the U.S. Chess Championship, with his highest placement being 4th. He won the 1960 Canadian Open Chess Championsh ...
and
Norman Lessing Norman Lessing (June 24, 1911 – October 22, 2001) was an American television screenwriter and producer, playwright, chess master, and chess writer. Biography Lessing grew up in New York City, and played a great deal of chess as a youth, reac ...
wrote that, "if a vote were taken among chess-players as to which pieces they most enjoyed playing with, there can be no doubt that the Staunton chessmen would win by an overwhelming margin. They are invariably used in major chess tournaments. No self-respecting chess club would be without them. They afford the most pleasing combination of utility and aesthetic appeal." Wooden Staunton chess sets were often turned on a
lathe A lathe () is a machine tool that rotates a workpiece about an axis of rotation to perform various operations such as cutting, sanding, knurling, drilling, deformation, facing, and turning, with tools that are applied to the workpiece ...
, then non-circular details were added by hand; the knights were made in two parts (head and base) which were stuck together with adhesive. ;A modern Staunton set, in plastic File:Chess piece - White king.jpg, White king File:Chess piece - White queen.jpg, White queen File:Chess piece - White rook.JPG, White rook File:Chess piece - White bishop.JPG, White bishop File:Chess piece - White knight.JPG, White knight File:Chess piece - White pawn.JPG, White pawn Image:Chess piece - Black king.JPG, Black king Image:Chess piece - Black queen.JPG, Black queen Image:Chess piece - Black rook.JPG, Black rook Image:Chess piece - Black bishop.JPG, Black bishop Image:Chess piece - Black knight.JPG, Black knight Image:Chess piece - Black pawn.JPG, Black pawn


Knight variations

Even among sets of the standard Staunton pattern, the style of the pieces varies. The
knights A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the ...
vary considerably. Some examples are shown below. Image:PlasticKnightCrop.jpg, Image:StauntonKnight2.jpg, Image:KnightBrighton.jpg, Image:KnightCapa.jpg, Image:KnightCent.jpg, Image:KnightFrench.jpg, Image:KnightImperial.jpg, Image:KnightProf.jpg, Image:KnightProl.jpg, Image:KnightRek.jpg, Image:KnightZagreb.jpg, Image:KnightIndianSmall.jpg, Image:KnightIndianEbony.jpg, Image:KnightIndianSlimRW.jpg, Image:KnightWild.jpg, Image:KnightPlasticPolgar.jpg, Image:KnightPlasticMarshall.jpg, Image:KnightPlasticCavalier.jpg, File:Plastic Collector knight.jpg, File:Drueke Players Choice knight.jpg,


See also

*
Dubrovnik chess set The Dubrovnik chess set is a style of chess pieces influenced by the Staunton chess set and used to play the game of chess. These chessmen are considered to have significant historical importance and are regarded as a timeless design classic. Ov ...
* Makonde chess set *
Selenus chess set The Selenus chess set is a style of chess set, in use before the standardization of chess pieces that happened after the Staunton chess set was launched in 1849 by games manufacturer John Jaques of London. The Selenus sets were typical of Germany ...
*
Lewis chessmen The Lewis chessmen ( no, Lewisbrikkene; gd, Fir-Tàilisg; sco, Lewis chesmen) or Uig chessmen, named after the island or the bay where they were found, are a group of distinctive 12th-century chess pieces, along with other game pieces, most of ...


References


Bibliography

* – original article placed here by author and inter-wiki linked. *


Further reading

* * *


External links

* * * * {{chess 1849 in chess 1849 introductions Chess sets